Category Archives: Accidents/Fires
The Woolsey Fire Was the Warning, but Failure to Act on Lessons Learned Made Palisades Pay the Price
(Editor’s note: this story first appeared in the Westside Current on April 17 and is reprinted with permission.) By JAMIE PAIGE Woolsey Fire (2018): A Catastrophe Exposes Systemic Gaps When the Woolsey Fire ignited on November 8, 2018, it quickly...
Posted in Accidents/Fires, General
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Corps Are Vital to the Rebuild and – They Recycle
The Army Corps of Engineers work seven days a week. This editor visited with Colonel Brian Sawser, who is in charge of the Palisades operations, on March 23, a Sunday, and he was still working at 7 p.m. A few...
Posted in Accidents/Fires, Palisades Fire
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Black Soot Water Fills the Santa Monica Canyon Flood Control Channel
There is an expression “speaking out of both sides of your mouth.” That was in evidence at the February 13, Pacific Palisades Community Council with Vahid Khorsand (Board of Public Works Director), Julie Allen (Assistant Director of LASAN), Ted Allen...
A Month Since the Palisades Fire: Examining City’s Initial Response
Even though there had been prior fires in the past two months in the Highlands area of Pacific Palisades and severe Santa Ana was predicted on January 6, it appears no prevention was in place and the reaction time to...
Posted in Accidents/Fires, Palisades Fire
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Private versus County Preparing for Possible Mud Slides
Residents in one area of the Pacific Palisades Highlands are not waiting for the County and City to “save” them from possible mudslides. Of the 87 properties in this Highlands enclave, Palisades County Estates, 11 burned during the Palisades Fire....
Posted in Accidents/Fires, Palisades Fire
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Officials Offer Aid and Try to Appease Those Who Lost Homes
By LAUREL BUSBY Contributing Writer Hundreds of suffering residents of Pacific Palisades and other communities affected by the Palisades Fire convened on Thursday with officials from the LAPD, city, county, and state fire departments, FEMA, and state and federal...
Posted in Accidents/Fires, Community
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Some Palisades Residents Allowed Back in Home
Palisades Senior Lead Officer Brian Espin sent email that as of noon on Friday, January 17, some residents would be allowed back in the evacuation zone that was set up during the Palisades Fire. Only the areas on the Southern/Eastern...
Posted in Accidents/Fires
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If I Rebuild, What Happens to Assessed Value?
A reader sent the following query to Circling the News: “We owned a condo on Via de la Paz. The building is insured through the California Fair Plan. The property taxes are covered under Prop 13. “My question is: ‘would...
Posted in Accidents/Fires, Real Estate
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FEMA Certified Pet Rescue Not Allowed in Palisades Fire. Why?
Those of us who were home when the evacuation notice was given for the Palisades Fire on January 7, were able to put our pets in the car and drive off. We were the lucky ones. Other residents who were...
Posted in Accidents/Fires, Animals/Pets
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Palisades Honorary Mayors Among Those Who Lost Homes
By BERNICE FOX It is not an exaggeration when I write that every single person in our area has been affected by the devastating Palisades Fire. But since I generally cover entertainment, this story looks at the celebrity angle, specifically,...
Posted in Accidents/Fires
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